Crazy Busy and Lots of Fun!

     This past week has been INSANE! It was completely jam-packed, some days were lots of fun and others were not so much. It definitely made for a crazy week! Monday kicked off the madness with Rylee's very first dentist appointment. Her pediatrician referred her to a pediatric dentist because she sucks her fingers when she sleeps, and he wanted to make sure it was not affecting her dental health. She had her teethed cleaned and she did so well at first, but as soon as the hygienist tried to rinse her mouth out, Rylee freaked out, but I was still proud of her because she was super brave for 90% of the appointment and even calmed down after her freak out and let the dentist examine her teeth. He said she is in perfect dental health and that unless something changes, he sees nothing wrong with allowing her to wean herself off of sucking her fingers in her own time, especially since she only does it to fall asleep.

     Tuesday, I had a literacy brunch to attend at work that morning. That afternoon Ryan and I took Payton to Memphis for her surgery to unblock her tear duct. It was a quick probe and she did not have to be put asleep but she absolutely HATED being held down by the nurses, and she let them know exactly how much she did not like it. I waited in the waiting room, and Ryan stayed with her. It took less than a minute, and she has been good as new ever since. She had a little nosebleed directly following the procedure, and there was a tiny bit of dried blood in the corner of her eye the next morning, but that was it. She never acted like it hurt or bothered her at all, and her eye has been crystal clear ever since!

     Wednesday, Liz and I took our kiddos to Mellow Mushroom for some pizza then Kid's Play in Germantown. We love that they are right next door to one another; it makes for the perfect play date! The kids ate a ton of pizza and then played and played and played for over 3 hours. It was a lot of fun. Even Payton found a lot of fun toys she could play with! It was a very quiet ride back home! ;)

       Thursday, I had to go to the dentist and have my top 2 wisdom teeth pulled. That was definitely not fun, but it wasn't as bad as I feared, but I had A LOT of jaw pain after the extraction, and I still do 4 days later, but it gets a little better each day.

     Friday night, we took the kids to the Ripley Tomato Festival. It was a lot of fun watching the kiddos ride rides and have a blast. Payton stayed home with Ryan because it was a bit too hot and a bit too late for her, but they had a nice night in while we had a fun night out! I was sad I couldn't enjoy any fair food because of my sore mouth, by I did manage to have a few bites of funnel cake!

     Saturday morning, we took the kids to the Atoka Splash Pad. They had so much fun running around in the sprinklers. It was a great way to cool off on a hot Saturday. Payton was glad to be included in the splashing fun.

    And to wrap up the craziness, today Ryan had to have surgery to have a large mole removed from his knee. He's had it ever since he can remember, but recently it has begun to change shape and color, and bleed out at times, and it just needed to go. The doctor said it's most likely a hemangionoma, but it did have some characteristics of melanoma, so it has been sent off for testing. He has several stitches in his knee from the removal, and they ended up having to cut down pretty deep to remove the entire mole because it had attached to his knee cap. So say a few prayers for him for a quick recovery. And also say some prayers that the test results come back completely clear!

Payton's First 4th of July

        We have had an amazing time celebrating Independence Day. Summer is definitely our favorite time of year, so Independence Day is always a fun holiday to celebrate. Other than Labor Day, it is Payton's last "first" holiday. It makes me sad that time has flown by so quickly, she will be a year old before we know it!

     We started our celebration last Saturday by traveling to Middle TN to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Aunt Shannon and Uncle Rod were there visiting them, so Payton was able to meet them for the first time. We headed to a local fireworks show. The kids were able to jump in bouncy houses and play on a playground while we waited for it to get dark enough for the show to begin. Once the show started, it was beautiful. Everyone had a really good time. It was pretty loud, so Rylee was a little timid, but she enjoyed herself, and Payton was very interested in all the colors at first, but got pretty tired and grouchy by the end. It was way passed her bedtime!

      Sunday morning, we got up and headed to a park to swim. The water was chilly, but the kids didn't mind. After swimming was ended abruptly by rain, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's for a delicious BBQ lunch. The kids made strawberry shortcake with Aunt Shannon for dessert. They were such cute little helpers. She even had them all the most perfect little aprons. It was adorable. After dessert, we headed home. We all had a good time, but we were tired out from all the fun.

    We continued our Independence Day celebration by heading to Georgia on Thursday. We got there in time to go to Mellow Mushroom for a pizza dinner, where Payton was able to meet her great grandmother, "Maw Maw," for the first time. We had a good time hanging out with everyone and eating until we were stuffed (Rylee ate 5 pieces of pizza!) Then we went back to Aunt Andrea's and Uncle Phil's and put the girls to bed and watched a little TV before we were ready for bed ourselves. It had been a long day!

      Then we got up early Friday morning, the 4th, and ate a wonderful breakfast that Aunt Andrea prepared for us, and then we headed to the Peachtree City 4th of July Parade. It was so much fun riding in the golf carts to the parade. Rylee though we were in the parade because the golf carts were so beautifully decorated! Once the parade got started, Rylee made out! She smiled and waved at everyone who passed, and ended up with a huge bag FULL of candy because of it. Payton enjoyed watching all the floats pass by, and she was smiling and watching the whole time.

     After the parade, we went back to their house for a little while and Ryles played bubble with Uncle Phil while Payton napped. Once Payton woke up, we headed to the pool. We were going to drive, but Rylee wanted to ride in the golf carts again, and with Uncle Phil whatever Rylee wants, Rylee gets, so we rode the golf cart to the pool. The girls had fun in the water. It was such a nice day, not too hot like July can be, but warm and sunny enough to enjoy a nice swim.

       When we got back from the pool, both girls fell asleep. Then we had a cookout to celebrate the 4th. We all pigged out and enjoyed each other's company. Then it was time to head to the fireworks show. We rode the golf carts to the golf course and the fireworks were shot over a lake near the course. It was absolutely gorgeous. We were much farther from the fireworks during this show, so Rylee was much less timid and actually watched the show and commented on all the different colors. Payton was tired and grouchy, but she calmed when we gave her some snacks and enjoyed the show.

      Saturday we enjoyed a quiet morning at the house. We all took turns playing double solitaire against Alex who beat everyone nearly every time. And Rylee played board games with Aunt Andrea. After a while, Nonna, Granddaddy, Mel, and Austin came by and they took the girls to the park while we headed to a shooting range. It was a different way to spend a Saturday. I had never been before, but I did shoot a few time and was proud of myself for actually hitting the target! When we got back, we played cards some more then had homemade enchiladas for dinner. They were so good, I ate 4! Then we played cards some more. Then we took a golf cart ride to a local ice cream shop. Payton had her first taste of ice cream, and she was so funny. She was begging for more. When we got back from the ice cream shop, we lit a few sparklers and some roman candles. It was a lot of fun. Then it was bedtime for the girls, and we played Uno until it was time for us to go to bed.

      Today we headed home, and Rylee is already asking to go back. She has told me multiple times that "Uncle Phil said I can come back soon!"I am glad she had such a good time. I had an amazing time celebrating the 4th with my family last weekend and with Ryan's family in Georgia. It has been crazy with all the traveling we've been doing, but it has been fun. I am beyond exhausted now, and I have a (hopeful) feeling the girls will sleep well tonight, too.

4 Year Check-Up

      Today Rylee had her 4 year physical and shots. She weighs 32 lbs and is 3 ft 5 in. tall. They don't do percentiles anymore after 3, but he basically said she's a little taller and a lot thinner than the average 4-year-old. There are no concerns about her weight though because she always always been tall and skinny. It's just her build. She had to have her finger pricked and pee in a cup, which she didn't cry about either of those. She was even smiling and talking to the nurse who pricked her finger while she was getting her blood sample. She failed her hearing test because she has impacted wax in her ears, so they tried to rinse it out in the office, but that didn't work because it was irritating her ear and she began to freak out, so they just told us to continue to rinse them out at home until we see the wax come out... Gross! Then she had to have 2 shots, she cried for the shots, but calmed down the very second they were done. Once we left, we went straight to chik-fil-a, as is our doctor visit tradition! :)

     She wears size 5T, 5, or 5/6 shirts, pjs, and dresses depending on the brand, and size 4T or 4 bottoms, and swimwear. She wears size 9 tennis shoes, flats, and closed-toe sandals, and size 8 flip-flops and open toe sandals. She typically sleeps from about 8:30 pm -7:30 am, and she hasn't been napping lately. She just decided about 2 weeks ago that she didn't need a nap anymore. She can write her name: Rylee Love without any help, but we are still working on Massengill, all she's got by memory so far is the M. She can also write Payton's name without help. She has been learning to spell and read and write some words, just by playing on her nabi, paying attention when Ryan or I read to her, and noticing her surroundings. She picks up on everything. I try to work with her, but she doesn't really like to work with me, and I don't want to force her. She's already ahead of where she needs to be, so I'm not going to force it.

      Rylee is such a special little girl. She has the biggest heart. She is such an amazing big sister to Payton. Every moment that Payton is awake, Rylee wants her to be wherever she is, and when she is sleeping, Rylee checks on her on the baby monitor. Rylee is also super creative. She loves to play Barbies, and she makes up the cutest little stories for them. She also likes to make up her own little songs. I love her little singing voice.

     And she is fearless. It amazes me how brave she is. She loves water and loves to swim. She has become so active. She is up for anything lately, and it is so not like the frightened and reserved child I had before.

       And she has become a major Daddy's girl. Their favorite thing to do is play Super Mario on the Super Nintendo. I spend most of my day answering the question, "When will Daddy come home?" She's still my buddy though, and I love spending my days with my little sidekick. I still can't believe she is 4 years old. Time needs to slow down!

9 Months Old!

     Payton Joy is 9 Months Old! She is 19 lbs 9 oz (75th percentile) and 27.75 in. long (75th percentile). She wears size 12 M clothes and size 18 M sleepers. She wears size 4 diapers, and size 2 shoes on the rare occasion that I put shoes on her. She doesn't really like shoes. She goes to bed around 8 pm and wakes up around 7 am. She takes 2 naps per day usually around 10 and 3. She typically naps anywhere from 1-2 hours at each naptime. All she needs to fall asleep is her paci, her silky, and her singing glowworm. She is such a little chatter bug and still says her words, but she's added 1 more word to the mix: "MAMA!" She is so cute when she calls for me. It is the most precious sound.

 She still only has her 2 bottom teeth, but they are stinkin' adorable! She is acting like she may get her top 2 soon, but we shall see. She has mastered the army crawl and is fairly mobile, but she still hasn't officially crawled yet. She's learned how to pull herself up into a standing position, but once she does it, she can't figure out how to get down. I'm trying to transition her from silicone spout sippy cups to a harder (but still soft) spout. She doesn't care much for a bottle anymore, so I am thinking of just completely getting rid of bottles, too. I haven't fully decided. I'm going to wait to see how well she transitions to these new sippy cups before I fully decide.

      She's been eating more and more table food and she loves it! I even let her try a tiny bit of cake at Rylee's birthday party just for fun. It was her first encounter with chocolate, and she won't have another until her 1st birthday party. For breakfast she eats a Gerber stage 2 fruit, a Gerber stage 1 veggie, and some cheerios or whole-grain toast. For lunch she eats a Gerber stage 2 veggie, a Gerber stage 1 fruit, and some puffs or yogurt melts. For dinner she eats a Gerber yogurt, a Gerber stage 2 meal, and bites of whatever I cooked for dinner. She drinks water and diluted 100% juice with her meals and nurses in between meals. She is still mostly breastfed, I only give her formula if we are going somewhere, or if she is extra hungry and I can't keep up. She's had maybe 5 formula bottles in the last month... not very much formula at all. I nurse on demand, especially now that it seems she is going through a growth-spurt, but on a typical day she would nurse 4 times a day. Lately it's been more like 6 times a day, but a growing baby needs lots of milk!

     She is such a water bug! She doesn't mind floating in deep water in her little floatie for short periods of time, but what she LOVES is shallow water that she can sit in and splash-splash-splash! She could sit and splash for hours, even in cool water. She also loves bathtime for the same reason. 

       Her eye is still draining, so we have scheduled her probe for July 8th. I will be relieved when it is over, and I know she will be glad to not have goop coming out of her eye all day every day anymore. I am a little nervous about it, but she is a champ, and I know she'll be fine. She barely cries about anything, so I'm hoping she is just as chill about this procedure!

Rylee is 4!

       Saturday, my sweet love-bug turned 4 years old! I cannot believe 4 years have gone by so quickly! Even though I am her mother, we have grown so much together, and she has taught me so much about myself. Her middle name is Love, and it is very appropriate because becoming her mother taught me how much I was capable of loving.

      We had her birthday party at the Ripley Water Park. She has been excited for months about this party, and when the day finally arrived, she could hardly contain her excitement. She woke up, and immediately informed us that she had grown during the night, and now she was 4 years old because it was June 21st. Then she proceeded to inform us that it was okay to have cookies for breakfast on your birthday. I gave her some cookies, and we got ready for the party, and off we went.

       We all had so much fun swimming. The favorite was the giant water slide. All the kids had the adults take them down the slide again and again. Rylee got to slide three times with me, twice with her daddy, once with Aunt Mary, and once with Aunt Liz. She also slid down the smaller (but still pretty big) water slide countless times and swam and swam until it was time to get out.

       After we got out of the pool, we headed to the pavilion for pizza, cake, and presents. Everyone was starving from all the water fun so we got right to eating the pizza. Rylee decided she didn't want everyone to sing to her, so she blew out her candle and then we cut into her pizza cake. It was delicious and everyone enjoyed a dessert of cake and ice cream.

     After food, came presents. Rylee got so many wonderful things. Everyone knows what she likes. Today her favorite has been a Barbie pool and water slide that she got. She's been using it to reenact her birthday party. Yesterday she played with her new baby doll that she named "Lillie" pretty much all day.

     After presents, the kids took turns whacking the pinata. After all the smaller kids had had a chance to hit it, Maleyia finally got it to open up, and everyone filled their goodie bags with candy.

        As everyone headed home and I cleaned up, Brandon and Ryan took Rylee and Kaden to the playground because they were asking to play. It was hot, so they didn't last long, but they had fun. Then we headed to my house where Liz, Brandon, Kaden, Mary and Bailey came to play with Rylee's new toys. Elizabeth, Brandon, and Kaden stayed and played until it was time for Rylee's birthday dinner of spaghetti and Texas toast. Everyone ate their fill, then they headed home.

       Then we let Rylee open her presents from us. We saved them so that her birthday could last a little longer and so that we could enjoy her opening our gifts as a family. From us she got angry bird skates, a guitar, a my-size Barbie and Hot Dots. Her birthday was a perfect day. It was definitely her best one yet. I had so much fun, and she had a smile on her face for the entire day. I could not have asked for things to have gone any better than they did. Happy birthday, sweet girl. You are so very loved!

        Becoming her mother was an unexpected road and it was challenging for many reasons. The day I found out I was pregnant with her, it was sophomore year of college, Ryan and I had been married for only 5 months. That October day, my class had been canceled, so I went shopping with Liz while Ryan went to school. She had been trying for a baby for a few months, and was beginning to get frustrated. She was venting to me and randomly said, "I bet you are pregnant right now on accident, and I've been trying, and I'll never get pregnant!" I just laughed it off, but I got to thinking, and when I got home I decided to take a pregnancy test even though it was still a week before I was supposed to get my period, just because I was getting paranoid, and I didn't want to worry about it anymore. I checked the test after a few minutes, and it was negative, but I didn't throw it away because it hadn't been a full 10 minutes yet, but I figured because it was still negative at that point, I wasn't pregnant...

     A few minutes later, Ryan came to me and said, "Are you supposed to be able to see another line just a little bit?" He didn't fully believe me when I said a faint second line meant I was in fact pregnant, even after I showed him in the directions that come with the test and took the other test in the box with the exact same result. He finally believed it a few days later, when I tested again on a digital test, and it was confirmed. I think we were both mainly just in shock. We didn't know anything about being parents. We had NO money. We didn't feel ready. But no matter how unprepared or frightened I was in the beginning, everything worked out better than I could imagine. I know without a doubt that Rylee Love was a gift from God, and she is going to do great things one day! She makes me so incredibly happy, and I am so blessed to be her mommy!